A ceremony held in Paris on Wednesday marked the fact that Romania has become an associate member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), secretary of state with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Luca Niculescu, who was in attendance, wrote on Facebook on Thursday evening.

'Romania's flag flying at the OECD was an emotional event to attend. The ceremony marked an important moment: Romania is the first country to obtain associate member status in the OECD Development Assistance Committee - the main international body that sets standards for development assistance and promotes best practices for poverty reduction and sustainable development,' Niculescu wrote on Facebook.

Romania became, in December, the first country to obtain associate member status in the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the international body responsible for coordinating official development assistance granted to developing countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed on December 19, 2025.

According to a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time, Romania's accession to the Development Assistance Committee comes as a result of the steady increase in recent years in the volume of official development assistance provided by the country, as well as the 'strengthening of Romania's profile as a consistent, predictable, and credible donor at the international level.'

'This status confirms a major change in mindset and position for our country: Romania is no longer a state that merely waits for support, but a nation strong and mature enough to offer help to those in need. The fact that we are the first country accepted as an associate member of this committee shows that international partners view us with trust and respect. In practice, we have demonstrated that we are ready to sit at the same table with the world's major economies and jointly decide how to build a safer future,' said Foreign Minister Oana Toiu, according to the same source.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs specified that, in 2024, the total value of official development assistance provided by Romania reached 539.1 million US dollars, representing 0.16% of gross national income, the highest level recorded by the country to date.

Official development assistance activities are directed toward ten states in the wider Black Sea region, the Western Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa, with the Republic of Moldova being Romania's priority partner. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pointed out that Romania actively supports the European path of its neighboring state, including within the framework of the Strategic Partnership for the European integration of the Republic of Moldova. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)